COVID-19 Update – March 30, 2020
Posted on Monday March 30, 2020
Dear valued Members, Partners and the ECTA Community;
The coronavirus pandemic is impacting everyone from our families, to our businesses, our communities and our health care workers who are bravely on the front lines. As the situation continues to affect our world we wanted to update you on our status and how we are responding.
Last week we announced that our office would be closed until further notice with our staff working from home, and today we have three additional announcements to share with you.
- Our Annual Awards Night will go ahead as scheduled on April 30th, however, the event will be conducted virtually and not in-person.
- Our annual fundraiser, the Trail Raiser, will be postponed until the Fall, the date to be determined.
- Our Corporate Sponsorship Campaign is placed on hold until further notice.
In addition, the startup of our trail maintenance and hiking programs, which normally begin in late April to mid May, could potentially be pushed out to June and beyond. We will keep you posted as the impact of this pandemic unfolds.
It is imperative that we take care of our staff and our volunteers and the communities they live and work in. All face-to-face meetings of our committees and subcommittees have stopped, and if required, are being conducted by phone and/or video conferencing. In addition, our trail crews, paid and volunteer, will not be deployed until our public health authorities confirm it is safe to restart our on trail programs. We have taken actions to reduce the need for people to come together while continuing to conduct business as best we can given the COVID-19 constraints and our limited resources.
In the event, you decide to hike during the current state of emergency we are strongly encouraging everyone to follow the advice of local, provincial and federal health authorities regarding the limits placed on the number of people, including practicing social distancing, ensuring you maintain a 6 foot radius around you at all times. This requirement also applies to the residents you encounter in the communities through which the trail passes, as we do not want to place our communities in harm’s way.
Please call 709-738-4453 or email information@eastcoasttrail.com if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you.
Randy Murphy
President, East Coast Trail Association